Breakout Candidate: Anton Lundell, C
Lundell scored 13 points last season when Aleksander Barkov was sidelined. The depth down the middle adversely affects his production since Sam Bennett is the second center. Matthew Tkachuk will miss the first 2-3 months, which might result in coach Paul Maucirce deploying Lundell more frequently on the power play, which would boost his output.
Buy Low Candidate: Mackie Samoskevich, RW
Samoskevich tallied 15 goals and 16 assists in 72 contests last season as a rookie. The addition of Brad Marchand relegated Samoskevich to spot playoff duty, as he dressed in just four contests. Just 23 years old, Samoskevich’s young legs should be relied upon even more during the regular season as the Panthers go for a Cup three-peat.
Riser: Seth Jones, D
Jones went from the basement to the penthouse in moving from Chicago to Florida. He won a Cup with the Panthers, playing a key role down the stretch and in the postseason. Jones likely will be deployed as the power-play quarterback, which should allow the blueliner to tally over 40 points for the first time since 2021-22.
Faller: Aaron Ekblad, D
Marchand could have been the one to highlight here, but I will go with Ekblad. If he is deployed on the man-advantage, Ekblad’s production would rebound to prior levels. But Florida likely will look to cut his minutes and wear and tear slightly by using Jones on the top power play. As such, coupled with his injury history, a decline in production should ensue.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.